PORTLAND – Mad Horse Theatre Company will present Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” April 14 to May at the Portland Performing Arts Center’s Studio Theater.

Written by O’Neill near of the end of his life when his reputation was in decline and his health failing, the play compresses a lifetime of love, pain and guilt into a single, fateful day – with O’Neill bearing his soul and laying his ghosts to rest.

“Long Day’s Journey Into Night” is a moving meditation on the family and the American dream.

Set in the summer of 1912, the Tyrone family summerhouse becomes a world of walking ghosts haunted by the past. James Tyrone, a famous and successful actor nearing the end of his career, and his beloved yet troubled wife, Mary, are joined by their two grown sons. Jamie, the elder, is also an actor yet lacks his father’s talents and discipline. Edmund, the younger son, has traveled the world as a merchant seaman, prospector and reporter. The family has gathered for a summer of rest and recuperation, but events conspire to undo the dream of familial bliss.

“Long Day’s Journey Into Night is the play that drew me to the theater,” said Artistic Director Andy Sokoloff. ” When I read it in high school, it had never occurred to me that you could have a story where each character is the hero and each one the villain; a play where each character is a tragic hero.”

Shows will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays and 5 p.m. Sunday, May 6. Regular ticket price: $16. The arts center is on the second floor at 25A Forest Ave. For tickets or more information, call 730-2389.